Chapter 42: Late Stage of Distraction

Qu Yi’s immediate response left Shuo Shang and the other two elders in despair. They had thought that with their combined strength at the later stage, Qu Yi would rely on them, giving them a bargaining advantage. But Qu Yi firmly refused, and the three immediately realized that even if they died, Qu Yi wouldn’t feel the slightest regret.
“I… surrender!” Shuo Shang said painfully, eyes closed.
“I also surrender,” the other two elders added, realizing the situation was hopeless.
Qu Yi smiled slightly before saying, “Don’t be desperate. I won’t force you to do anything you don’t want to. Let me make it clear—if you behave well, I’ll release the shackles on your souls when you ascend.”
Hearing this, Shuo Shang and the two elders thought it was exactly what they had demanded before. But they soon realized it was different now—what they had asked for was a condition, while what Qu Yi was offering was a reward.
“Yes, I’ll behave well,” they replied politely, though uneasy.
Qu Yi didn’t blame them. As long as they performed well and helped him obtain the treasure that would emerge from Tianyi Star, that would suffice.
“I ask you—what exactly is the treasure that will emerge from Tianyi Star?” Qu Yi asked, staring at Shuo Shang with a smile.
Shuo Shang, as the head of the Enforcement Hall of the Jin Yang Sect and a high-ranking official, surely knew these secrets.
After a moment of silence, Shuo Shang looked at Qu Yi and sighed, “The treasure that will emerge is called the Liuhe Blade. It’s related to the treasures of the Haotian Immortal Mansion.”
Upon hearing this, Qu Yi’s face showed shock. He immediately asked, “Isn’t it said that one only needs the Eight-Directions Swords to enter the Haotian Immortal Mansion? Why is the Liuhe Blade needed now?”
Previously, Qu Yi had obtained two Eight-Directions Swords. He had planned to announce his possession once his strength improved, then negotiate with the ten major sects to enter the Haotian Immortal Mansion together to claim its treasures. Now that he heard the Liuhe Blade was also related to it, he was naturally astonished.
Seeing Qu Yi’s surprise, Shuo Shang smiled faintly and said, “The secret of the Liuhe Blade is known only to the high-ranking members of the ten major sects. People in the cultivation world are unaware of it. The Eight-Directions Swords allow us to enter the outer areas of the Haotian Immortal Mansion, while the Liuhe Blade lets us enter its inner areas.”

After hearing this, Qu Yi quickly envisioned the outline of the Haotian Immortal Mansion in his mind—a circular space divided into an outer area and an inner area. Those in the cultivation world could use the Eight-Direction Swords to enter the outer area, while the Six-Union Blades allowed them to enter the inner area.
“I heard there are only eight Eight-Direction Swords. So, are there six Six-Union Blades?” Qu Yi thought for a moment before asking again.
Shuoshang nodded and said calmly, “I’ve seen that you already possess two Eight-Direction Swords. It seems the Eighth Eight-Direction Sword that appeared on Baiyin Star last time was the eighth one, and you also obtained the seventh one long ago. There are indeed only six Six-Union Blades, and five of them have already appeared, each belonging to its own master. The Six-Union Blade that emerged in the Tianhuo Star region is the sixth one.”
Qu Yi’s expression changed once more. With ten major sects but only six Six-Union Blades, there would surely be fierce competition for the last one.
“Then, do you know how many Eight-Direction Swords and Six-Union Blades each of the ten major sects currently possess?” Qu Yi asked eagerly.
During the last incident on Baiyin Star, the two demon cultivators sects, Xianyue Cliff and Jiugong Island, clearly didn’t have any Eight-Direction Swords, so they sent powerful demons to desperately seize them. When they saw that the eighth Eight-Direction Sword had appeared, they even allied with each other and fought fiercely against the other two parties. This time, with only six Six-Union Blades, the ten major sects surely couldn’t divide them evenly. At least five sects wouldn’t get any Six-Union Blades, and naturally, those sects would compete fiercely for them.
What Qu Yi wanted to know were the names of those sects that hadn’t obtained any Six-Union Blades.
Since Shuoshang had already started revealing secrets, he simply spilled more, saying, “Among the four cultivation sects, Taiyuan Sect has one sword and two blades; Qingyun Sect has one sword; Lanyang Palace has one blade; Yingtian Sect has one sword. Among the three demon cultivation sects, Jinding Sect has one blade; Cangyang Valley has one sword; Biyan Peak has one sword. The demon cultivators sect, Bai Shou Peak, has one sword and one blade. Xianyue Cliff and Jiugong Island haven’t obtained either an Eight-Direction Sword or a Six-Union Blade.”
Qu Yi wrote it down and thought carefully. Now he understood clearly how many Eight-Direction Swords and Six-Union Blades each of the ten major sects had.
“Now, I already have two Eight-Direction Swords, more than any of those ten sects. If I can also seize this Six-Union Blade, the number of Eight-Direction Swords and Six-Union Blades I possess will be equal to that of Taiyuan Sect, the strongest among them,” Qu Yi thought to himself with satisfaction.
Wuyuan, Jin Qilin, Huanwu Die, Shuoshang, and the two elders watched Qu Yi in silence, having no choice but to observe him quietly.

“That’s enough; I’m already aware of these situations. Next, Shuoshang, you and the two elders will fly through the starry sky to the outer area of Tianhuo Star Region to set up spatial teleportation arrays,” Qu Yi suddenly said. With these three experts at the late stage of fusion, Qu Yi didn’t want Jin Qilin to act as the vanguard anymore. “Yes!” Shuoshang and the two elders replied, somewhat dejectedly. Afterwards, Shuoshang, along with the two elders—Shuorui and Shuoxu—took turns using the Tiny World Ball to teleport through the starry sky of Tianhuo Star Region, searching for planets to set up spatial teleportation arrays. As for Qu Yi, he intended to advance to the late stage of Divine Absorption. … By a lake within the Tiny World Ball, Qu Yi sat alone. In front of him was a jade platform, on which five Yuan Ying at the early stage of fusion were placed. Two of these Yuan Ying were provided by the elders of Guangyuan Gate, and three by the elders of Jinyang Sect—one each from the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Qu Yi’s soul realm had already reached the late stage of Divine Absorption, and he had been searching for Yuan Ying. Now that he had gathered them all, he naturally aimed to advance further. He focused his energy, allowing his vital essence to circulate rapidly within his body. The five elemental techniques—glorious gold, reviving vegetation, water merging with the sky, spreading flames, and vast imperial earth—driven the energies of the five elements throughout his body, cleansing it over and over again. At one moment, Qu Yi’s eyes widened sharply, glowing with intensity. “Five Yuan Ying enter the body, transform into essence, and merge with the orifices; the soul leaves the body, achieving perfect purity!” Qu Yi exclaimed softly. Instantly, the five Yuan Ying on the jade platform flew into his mouth and quickly entered his dantian. There, they dissolved into five streams of vital essence, each entering one of his internal organs—lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen. These organs received energies from metal, wood, water, fire, and earth respectively. The Yuan Ying within them combined these energies, further condensing them and making them purer, drawing closer to the primal energies of the five elements. The energy from the five Yuan Ying in his dantian was too great, and the separated energies couldn’t be controlled by the five techniques at first. Qu Yi immediately accelerated the circulation of these techniques, speeding up the flow of energy even more. Suddenly, his six-headed, human-shaped spirit left his body and appeared above his head. The elemental energies within his body, influenced by his spirit, transformed from qi into spirit, even nourishing his spirit and strengthening it further.

The primordial spirit is gradually changing. In the early stage of separation, the primordial spirit is like a newborn just taking shape; in the middle stage, it’s like a child who can start to observe and understand surroundings; while now, in the later stage, it has evolved into an adult capable of independent thinking.
The separation phase involves allowing the primordial spirit to rest, merge into the void, and directly interact with various energies to comprehend their properties. Thus, the stronger the primordial spirit, the more powerful one’s cultivation will be in the future.
At this moment, Qu Yi’s primordial spirit continues to grow, seemingly without end…
…
Shuo Shang was flying through the starry sky, wielding the Eight Directions Sword. As he teleported, he kept an eye on the changes in the surrounding stars. If celestial fire appeared, Shuo Shang was eager to swing his sword—a streak of light over ten meters long would streak through the air, scattering the fierce celestial fire. It was a highly satisfying experience.
Ten days later, Shuo Shang reached the inner region of the Tianhua Star Zone, the Inner Nine Stars. Shuo Shang, Shuo Rui, and Shuo Xu took turns flying through the outer region’s stars, stopping on several outer planets before finally arriving at the inner region.
The Inner Nine Stars consisted entirely of boiling magma, with no place that seemed safe enough to land. Shuo Shang had to fly around, searching desperately for an area free from magma flow. Though difficult to find, through his persistent efforts, he eventually discovered a spot where his body could rest.
In a sea of magma, there stood a solitary golden pillar about ten meters tall. No matter how the boiling magma surged and splashed, it couldn’t knock down the pillar, and no celestial fire seemed to exist in that area either. Therefore, Shuo Shang decided to use this place to set up a spatial teleportation array.
Qu Yi emerged from the inch-world sphere and stood on the golden pillar, spreading his spiritual awareness. He could only sigh helplessly, “The Inner Nine Stars truly have such a harsh environment. There’s no need to think further—will there even be any planets suitable for us to settle on if we fly deeper into the Tianhua Star Zone? As for the core planets, Tianyi, Tianer, and Tiansan—those must be like stars. It’s impossible for us to even get close to them.”

Upon hearing this, Shuo Shang couldn’t help but laugh. “Li Mu, you don’t know this. In the inner regions, indeed, there are sudden bursts of celestial fire and boiling magma. But on Tianyi Star, Tianer Star, and Tiansan Star, the surface is just like ordinary planets in our cultivation world. However, these three stars have one major danger: once cultivators enter them, they can’t absorb spiritual energy and must rely on the pills we bring to replenish their vital energy. Therefore, if we want to enter these three planets, we must carefully assess our pills and not take the risk of entering, otherwise we’ll die from exhaustion right there.”

After hearing this, Qu Yi was amazed by the strangeness of these three core planets, but he wasn’t worried at all. After reaching the later stage of the Divination Realm, he still had many Divination Realm Nascent Souls in his space ring—those were his “pills.”

Moreover, Qu Yi had a feeling that just because other cultivators couldn’t absorb spiritual energy on these three planets didn’t mean he couldn’t. After all, the mixed Nascent Souls in his dantian were incredibly miraculous.